Our Story: How the Sharing Center Began

In the depths of the 1982 recession, two neighbors—Kathy Fors and Marilyn Chalet—sat down for coffee and discovered something remarkable. Without coordinating or planning, both women had been quietly helping struggling families in the Wheatland Estates Mobile Home Park, sharing food directly from their own cupboards.

“We were both exhausting our cupboards,” Kathy recalled, “and yet the more we gave, the more people we found who were going hungry.”

At the same time, Kathy’s husband Rick Fors was experiencing a similar calling. “I made a New Year’s resolution asking God to open my eyes to people in need,” Rick said. “Just days later, neighbors came to our door asking if we could feed their children. Soon, we were feeding several families out of our cupboard. It felt like more than coincidence.”

What began as neighbors helping neighbors quickly grew into something larger.

In 1983, motivated by compassion and a shared belief that no one should go hungry or unhoused, Marilyn Chalet and Rick and Kathy Fors transformed a community center into a food pantry and a camper into emergency housing. From those humble beginnings, the Sharing Center was born.

Even after Kathy’s untimely passing in 1996, the Center carried her vision forward. Services expanded to meet growing needs across Western Kenosha County, and the Sharing Center continued to evolve—finding homes in New Munster, Silver Lake, and Paddock Lake—before settling into its current Trevor location in 2012.

A deeply meaningful moment came in 2014, when Rick reconnected with the Center after many years. During his first visit to the Trevor facility, Rick and Executive Director Sharon Pomaville spent hours sharing stories—filling in three decades of history, dreams, accomplishments, joys, and challenges.

When asked what he thought of the Center, Rick replied, “I couldn’t be more proud. It’s everything Kathy and I wanted to do ourselves. When Kathy and I married, the Sharing Center became our ‘baby.’ It’s beautiful.”

For Sharon, the meeting was unforgettable. “I had longed to meet Rick and Kathy,” she said. “Rick felt like a long-lost kindred spirit. The work the Center was doing was exactly what they had dreamed of 30 years earlier. It was a day I will never forget.”

Rick passed away in 2016, but his and Kathy’s legacy lives on. Their children remain involved with the Sharing Center today, continuing a family tradition of service and compassion.

Inspired by Rick’s simple prayer—“Show me the way”—the Sharing Center continues to lead the way in Kenosha County, responding to crisis, restoring dignity, and working toward a future without hunger or homelessness, both locally and beyond.

To Kathy, Rick, and Marilyn: thank you for your courage, your generosity, and your unwavering belief in the power of community. Your vision laid the foundation for nearly 50 years of service—and continues to guide us forward.